A Quiet Address1
“Ah… so that’s how it is.”
Sun Miao’s mood dipped slightly, the very end of her tone trailing downwards. Su Ruixi noticed this too, and she actually took the initiative to console Sun Miao, “Thank you for reminding me. I know you’re concerned about me.”
As soon as she offered that comfort, Sun Miao’s mood improved considerably.
Sun Miao hadn’t prepared soup for Su Ruixi this time. She explained simply, “What I made today is duck blood vermicelli soup; it comes with its own broth, so I didn’t prepare any extra for myself either.”
Su Ruixi nodded, though she actually felt some resistance. For someone like her, who preferred light flavors, being asked to eat duck blood vermicelli soup was practically torture. This was because duck blood vermicelli soup contained many offal2 ingredients, like duck liver and duck gizzards—things that made Su Ruixi frown just thinking about them.
Sun Miao knew her tastes and explained, “I’ve pre-processed all of these, I guarantee they’re not gamey3 at all, and the texture is excellent. Susu-jie, if you’re worried the flavor might be too strong, I can put less offal and more pea shoots for you.”
Sun Miao had her own little scheme regarding the address. Seeing that Su Ruixi hadn’t seemed to mind her way of calling her earlier, she sneakily tried calling her “Susu-jie” again. This time, Su Ruixi didn’t pay attention either, preoccupied instead with wondering what pea shoots were.
Su Ruixi, much like Hip-hop Mei, was someone who couldn’t tell her grains apart4 and whose fingers never touched spring water5; she had eaten pea shoots before, but if you asked her the name, she’d be completely baffled6. Seeing her slightly lost expression, Sun Miao guessed that if she put alfalfa sprouts7 and pea shoots together, Su Ruixi definitely wouldn’t be able to tell which was which.
Sun Miao even brought out the pea shoots to show her, explaining, “This is it. It’s quite tasty. Would you like to try some?”
The pea shoots had already been washed clean and placed in a basket. They were a vibrant, tender green, looking very refreshing.
Seeing Sun Miao recommending them so enthusiastically, Su Ruixi finally relented, “Alright then, I’ll have a serving to try.”
“No garlic or cilantro, just the original flavor with some chopped scallions? Would you like a little vinegar added?”
“Okay, I’ll leave it to you.”
Su Ruixi had great trust in Sun Miao. After all, this was the first time in her twenty-seven or twenty-eight years that she had eaten food so perfectly suited to her taste. In the entire world, no one could grasp Su Ruixi’s preferred flavors more accurately than Sun Miao.
She sat at a small table nearby and waited for a short while before Sun Miao brought over the duck blood vermicelli soup. Compared to Hip-hop Mei’s extra-numbing-and-spicy version, this serving was much lighter and fresher, with a few glistening droplets of oil floating on top. “This is rendered duck fat; it’s not greasy,” Sun Miao added.
“Mm.”
The appearance of this duck blood vermicelli soup completely passed muster for Su Ruixi. Primarily because of that layer of tender green pea shoots—light yellow broth topped with delicate green scallions, beneath which lay the even more vividly green pea shoots8, looking refreshing and delicious. Su Ruixi picked up her spoon and first took a sip of the broth.
Her sensation was completely different from Hip-hop Mei’s. Without the spiciness, there was only the savory freshness and lightness of the duck broth. A tiny hint of vinegar added a richer layer to the soup’s overall flavor profile. Then, she picked out the pea shoots first. Popping them into her mouth, she found them exceptionally delicious too.
Pea shoots have their own distinct flavor, but they are also an ingredient that absorbs flavors exceptionally well. Most importantly, they were a perfect match for the clear broth.
Even people from the Sichuan-Shu region, who adore spicy hotpot, can accept a clear broth hotpot just for the sake of pea shoots. This is because their unique flavor, when blanched in a clear broth, doesn’t lose its original fresh undertone.
Following that, the vermicelli also deeply won Su Ruixi’s heart.
The texture of vermicelli is different from rice noodles. Rice noodles are generally thicker, while vermicelli is finer; rice noodles are chewier and more Q-elastic, whereas vermicelli is softer. However, as long as Sun Miao made it, whether it was rice noodles or vermicelli, Su Ruixi found it delicious.
She hesitated slightly. After eating the vermicelli and pea shoots, she was supposed to move on to the other ingredients—namely, the offal and duck blood that Su Ruixi didn’t particularly like. Just then, Sun Miao also sat down next to Su Ruixi. Since her earlier use of “Susu-jie” hadn’t been rebuffed, she was feeling even happier now and couldn’t help but want to press her advantage9 and solidify the form of address.
“Susu-jie, try it. It’s really not gamey.”
Su Ruixi looked up and saw Sun Miao seated there. She was neither too close nor too far, maintaining a social distance but without being overly detached. Su Ruixi didn’t mind Sun Miao sitting beside her. Although Su Ruixi appeared cool and aloof, she wasn’t the type to adhere strictly to the rule of not speaking during meals10. At her family’s dining table, they would always chat while eating.
Persuaded by Sun Miao, Su Ruixi finally nodded and ate a piece of duck blood. She paused for a moment. There wasn’t an obvious reaction like Hip-hop Mei’s, but her eyes couldn’t help but curve into crescents—clearly, she found it delicious.
Her dislike for duck blood truly stemmed from being unable to stand its gamey taste. And because she rarely ate it, she hadn’t realized just how well Sun Miao had prepared this duck blood.
The proportions for making the duck blood were specially formulated under the guidance of the System, making it more cohesive and less likely to break apart than typical duck blood, as well as tastier. Furthermore, after it was made and before it reached the table, Sun Miao had actually blanched it once beforehand. During the blanching, she had added iodized salt, incorporating an extra step to remove the gaminess, along with cooking wine and ginger slices.
This ensured that during the final preparation, it would be free of any gamey taste while also being more solidified, tender, and smooth.
Su Ruixi ate very slowly. It took Hip-hop Mei just over five minutes to finish, whereas Su Ruixi spent fifteen to twenty minutes finishing one bowl of duck blood vermicelli soup. After she finished, she slowly and methodically pulled out a napkin to wipe her mouth, only then saying, “It was very good.”
Sun Miao immediately started promoting her marinated duck items: “I also braised some duck parts. There’s a five-spice flavor, not spicy at all. Would you like to buy some to try?”
Sun Miao didn’t even mention the one-per-person purchase limit. She knew Su Ruixi might not necessarily buy any, and even if she did, she would likely buy just one serving at most to try the flavor. After hesitating for a moment, Su Ruixi still said, “Okay, give me one serving.”
In the end, Su Ruixi left carrying the marinated duck parts after scanning a code to pay. She directly paid 100 yuan and departed with her purchase.
After eleven o’clock, some previous regular customers started arriving one after another. They had followed Sun Miao’s location marker to find her. As soon as they met, they began complaining that Sun Miao’s spot was too remote, saying it took a long time even to drive over. Sun Miao was quite surprised; did these people really not have to work? Why could they run over to find her in the middle of a workday lunch hour?
Moreover, quite a few people came, depleting a large portion of Sun Miao’s stock. The crucial point was that they didn’t just eat; they ate and took away, eating one serving on the spot and packing another to go. The marinated duck parts, especially, sold out completely. Clearly, items like marinated duck parts were something everyone wanted to take some of; they could casually gnaw on them when bored in the afternoon or evening, and it wouldn’t fill them up too much.
Most importantly, they paired well with alcohol.
Most of them were adults, so Sun Miao wasn’t surprised they could come. Besides, many were from the Cuiting Yayuan community, and those were all wealthy people. Weren’t wealthy people known for having both money and leisure time? Traveling this far for a meal wasn’t that difficult. What surprised Sun Miao the most was that Man Man and Xiao Xiao also came.
The first thing Sun Miao asked upon seeing them was, “Don’t you two have classes today?”
The two exchanged glances and couldn’t help but laugh. “Wow, Boss-jiejie, you actually didn’t ask if we skipped class to come out.”
“You definitely wouldn’t. Besides, university students have more free time; it’s more likely you didn’t have afternoon classes and ran out.”
“Hehe, Boss-jiejie, you understand us best.”
Xiao Xiao added, “We couldn’t resist when we heard it was vermicelli soup. Man Man is from Jinling11, and she always talks about how delicious the duck is back home—how no duck can swim out of Jinling12. Boss, if what you make isn’t authentic, Man Man will criticize you.”
“I can’t guarantee authentic or not, but it’s definitely delicious.”
Sun Miao made duck blood vermicelli soup for the two of them. When Man Man saw her adding pea shoots, she was somewhat surprised, “Boss, you put this in?”
“Mhm, it fits very well.”
After they finished eating, Man Man gave her review: “Delicious! Everything except the pea shoots was quite authentic, and the pea shoots were really tasty too. I didn’t expect they could be added like this. We’ll come again next time!”
Sun Miao’s business selling duck blood vermicelli soup went exceptionally smoothly, much smoother than she had anticipated. However, Su Ruixi’s progress wasn’t going so well.
After entering the golf course, she first went to the rest area and sat waiting in the main lobby. She didn’t like playing golf, had naturally never been here before, and didn’t have her own exclusive VIP lounge, so she could only wait in the main lobby.
Su Ruixi hadn’t brought the food inside. She simply sat in the lobby, ordered a bottle of mineral water, and waited obediently. Su Ruixi didn’t have the habit of playing on her phone when bored; she was an exceptionally patient person, capable of waiting for a long time even if just sitting idly.
Their appointment was set for 12:30 PM. Su Ruixi had arrived at the entrance around 11:something, finished eating around 11:30, and waited for less than an hour. When the agreed-upon time arrived, she still hadn’t seen the client. Su Ruixi frowned slightly; she was a very punctual person, so she hoped others would be punctual too.
However, the client clearly had no intention of being punctual with her. It wasn’t until 1:35 PM that Su Ruixi saw her client arriving leisurely late. Su Ruixi stood up and walked towards the client, starting to speak, “President Zhang13, you’ve arrived…” Before her sentence was finished, she saw the middle-aged woman opposite her reveal a smile, “Ah, you wait a moment, okay? I’ve already arranged with someone to play a round first before seeing you. Thanks for your trouble, oh.”
Su Ruixi’s steps halted. She looked at President Zhang, her face betraying nothing, and simply said very calmly, “Okay.”
The people following behind President Zhang showed expressions of keen interest. They discussed something in low voices; Su Ruixi could guess it was about her.
Su Ruixi didn’t know how to play golf, but because the client, President Zhang, liked it, she had researched it somewhat. A round of golf takes three to five hours. Having her wait here was clearly meant as a deliberate show of force to put her in her place14.
President Zhang left with her entourage. Su Ruixi watched them walk away before sitting back down in her seat. Her lips pressed tightly together, feeling somewhat baffled. She didn’t understand why President Zhang wanted to make things difficult for her—first making her personally deliver the letter of intent alone, then being late, and now this humiliation.
From birth until now, Su Ruixi had never suffered such a grievance.
LP: Su Ruixi too patient, I would have left immediately after that lmao
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